Another Tuesday another ti-wait a second, this isn’t a tier list! As we wait for people putting the glut of new releases through their paces I wanted to introduce a new content format: the Three Box Challenge.
What is the three box challenge, may you ask? It’s simple – what affiliated rosters can you put together with just the core set plus three boxes of your choice. I know a lot of us obsessively purchase every single box, but I think a huge part of why this game is so great is you can pick up a core box, and a couple boxes of what appeals to you and you could take that to a game night or tournament and do OK.
If you’re coming to this article without having any MCP experience whatsoever and are doubting the value of the Core box, I’m here to tell you that it is worth it. For $100 you get:
- All the dice you should need
- All the measuring tools you will need
- ~Half a tournament board’s worth of terrain
- 10 characters (a standard game requires a roster of 10)
- 20 tactics (you’ll need 8)
- 3 secure crises and 3 extract crises (you’ll need 3 of each to play)
Compared to other big wargames like 40k/AOS and WMH, its really impressive what you can get for ~$200. So, this is somewhat akin to a budget/beginner’s MCP guide, focusing on a different faction each time.
Rather than going alphabetically with the tier lists I’ve chosen an arbitrary order and therefore we’re starting with everyone’s favorite control affiliation – Wakanda.
For those of you who do not know of Wakanda’s reputation in MCP, they are a secure focused control affiliation. By taking advantage of their push-on-attack effects, they play a game of positioning their opponents to stop them scoring and get points themselves. And to top it off is Wakanda Forever:
This is quite probably the best tactic card in the game. It is normally VERY expensive to get attacks without spending actions, and getting extra attacks is rare. And since you have automatic push effects on attack, this isn’t an attritional card but essentially lets you push two characters short with smart positioning of BP and Shuri. It also enables the most outrageous of Killmonger’s big kill turns. It’s proven to be an incredibly effective and flexible strategy, being relevant / top of the meta since their release.
To start off the purchasing we’re going to go with the 2 obvious boxes: Black Panther & Killmonger and Okoye & Shuri:
Black Panther is a highly mobile tank whose attacks push enemies away, allowing him to stand on secure objectives unopposed. Shuri is an incredible long range support turret, pushing enemies around from afar to prevent them scoring. Okoye is quite probably the best 2 threat character in the game, an incredibly efficient fighter on both offense and defense. And Killmonger has one of the highest one round damage outputs for his threat (as long as you can properly support him). Storm is a Wakandan as well but if we’re going to spend 2 of our 3 boxes on the core four, we can get better mileage out of our third box.
For our final box we want to emphasize the displacement and control focus of Wakanda. Here’s where things get tricky and there’s a few ways for you to go. First let’s talk about Spider-Man and Ghost Spider:
Miles and Gwen have been quite popular in Wakanda lists. Miles has a (wild) throw on his builder, and his spender forces enemies to drop any extract objectives they’re holding. Gwen has a pull effect that works wonders, cool hit and run plays, and even an emergency escape tool for overextended allies. However I’d say that the crisis doesn’t play INCREDIBLY well with Wakanda (though doable if you’re sick of the core crises), and while All You’ve Got is a strong attrition card that can further accentuate Killmonger’s big damage, the other two tactics are Web Warrior specific and can’t be used in a Wakanda-focused roster. That said, if you’re taking these two, you’re probably also taking Peter Parker from the core box which means you can field a Wakanda/Web Warriors double affiliation. Your roster would look something like this:
[Characters]
- Baron Zemo: 3
- Black Panther: 4
- Black Widow: 2
- Doctor Octopus: 3
- Ghost-Spider: 3
- Killmonger: 4
- Okoye: 2
- Shuri: 3
- Spider-Man (Miles Morales): 3
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker): 4
[Team Tactics]
- Advanced R&D
- All Webbed Up
- Brace for Impact
- Disarm
- Patch Up
- Usurp the Throne
- Vibranium Shielding
- Wakanda Forever
[Extract Crises]
- Mystic Wakandan Herbs: Fact or Fiction? [A]: 15
- Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan [F]: 17
- Struggle for the Cube Continues [F]: 17
[Secure Crises]
- Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians [C]: 17
- Infinity Formula Goes Missing [B]: 17
- Portals Overrun City with Spider-People [D]: 18
Alternatively we have the more… Asgardian version:
Angela and Enchantress are arguably two of the most meta defining characters at the moment. Angela is the first of a very exclusive club of characters – characters that can interact with midline objectives in a single move, allowing them to grab key extracts and retreat. She also a pretty solid fighter for her cost. Enchantress on the other hand is a control heavyweight – moving enemies against their will, sapping their power, and even stealing extracts off of enemies. They come with no crisis or and just one situationally useful tactic card that Wakanda can use but they’re just that good that I recommend them anyways.
[Characters]
- Angela: 5
- Baron Zemo: 3
- Black Panther: 4
- Black Widow: 2
- Doctor Octopus: 3
- Enchantress: 4
- Killmonger: 4
- Okoye: 2
- Shuri: 3
- Spider-Man (Peter Parker): 4
[Team Tactics]
- Advanced R&D
- Brace for Impact
- Disarm
- Grievous Wounds
- Patch Up
- Usurp the Throne
- Vibranium Shielding
- Wakanda Forever
[Extract Crises]
- Skrulls Infiltrate World Leadership [C]: 17
- Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan [F]: 17
- Struggle for the Cube Continues [F]: 17
[Secure Crises]
- Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians [C]: 17
- Infinity Formula Goes Missing [B]: 17
- Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 [D]: 17
Finally we come to the other Asgardian variation:
I’m not sure if I like it as much as Angela/Enchantress for raw power but IMO there’s a few things going for them. Valkyrie is the perennial perfect Wakanda splash character with her in-built throw and great action economy. Thor might be a bit less smooth than his box’s counterpart in terms of playing the throw game but he hits like a TRUCK. And while the tactics aren’t of much use (Thunderwave is trash please just trust me), the crisis – Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities – is very often taken in general, though less in Wakanda rosters (and IMO it loses its luster a bit without Angela). These two also help bolster the Avengers options from the core box as Captain America, Thor, and Black Panther as an incredibly brawly 13 threat base.
[Characters]
- Baron Zemo: 3
- Black Panther: 4
- Black Widow: 2
- Captain America: 4
- Doctor Octopus: 3
- Killmonger: 4
- Okoye: 2
- Shuri: 3
- Thor, Prince of Asgard: 5
- Valkyrie: 3
[Team Tactics]
- Advanced R&D
- Avengers Assemble
- Battle Lust
- Brace for Impact
- Disarm
- Patch Up
- Usurp the Throne
- Wakanda Forever
[Extract Crises]
- Fear Grips World as “Worthy” Terrorize Cities [D]: 18
- Spider-Infected Invade Manhattan [F]: 17
- Struggle for the Cube Continues [F]: 17
[Secure Crises]
- Deadly Meteors Mutate Civilians [C]: 17
- Infinity Formula Goes Missing [B]: 17
- Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0 [D]: 17
And FINALLY, if you’re not supporting your FLGS for MCP, I would like to bring your attention to our sponsors for your wargaming needs in both NA and the UK:
NA:
https://www.discountgamesinc.com/
UK:
https://blackgategames.co.uk
That will wrap us up for this inaugural Three Box Challenge article here on acrossthebifrost.com! As this is a new article format, please let me know what you liked and what you think can be improved for future Three Box Challenge articles. Also make sure to check out the Roster Doctor on Facebook, Youtube and Anchor.Fm!
https://www.facebook.com/rosterdoctor